Fate/Build: The Mechanical Magus
By Tailsmo4ever
Consulted by Ten-Faced Paladin and Kamen Rider Chrome
Phase 6: Don't Be Conceited
Archer was upset.
No, not just upset, he was downright annoyed.
With grace and fluidity that can't be displayed by an ordinary human, the Servant of the Bow glided from building to building on his way to Homurahara Academy. In his Astral Form, he remained unseen from those without knowledge of magic. He had just sensed a sudden blast of distress and panic in his master, which really had him worried. While he was unable to link his senses to hers to see what she was seeing, he knew that something happened that put her in a state of crisis.
The reason for his annoyance was that events were going off the deep end from what they were supposed to. Originally, it was Shinji who was supposed to attack the school through the Blood Fort Andromeda he had Rider create. He was expecting some small form of change here or there but things should have at least stayed the same by ending in Shinji forced into a retreat after his plans failed. Whatever was happening right now was not Shinji's doing at all. He has had a terrible feeling ever since he and Rin chased Lancer to the Emiya Estate, finding Shirou fighting the Servant of the Spear with a strange suit of armor. A suit of armor created from technology that's far more advanced than anything the world's top inventors and engineers of this era have created. A technological suit capable of standing up to Magecraft and magic, something believed impossible by the secret world of Mage Society.
Finally landing atop a building near the school, Archer was able to get a clear look of the school. What he saw caused his eyes to dilate. "This can't be happening... I'm looking at a gas chamber."
If Archer wasn't seeing it for himself, he'd have a hard time believing it. Colorless gas had completely filled Homurahara Academy, some opened windows and cracks letting it seep out to the ground. It wasn't enough to let out all the gas. And as it was still the middle of a school day, there were still students and teachers left inside. Not to mention Rin was still inside. No doubt this was the cause for her distress. If he could leave Shirou in there to get gassed to death, he would. But he needed the boy to deal with Faust, so he'll have to get him out someway too... though there could be some "unavoidable" accidents along the way.
His highly tuned senses picked up fast approaching motion directed at him. Whirling around, a dark figure rose up from the streets and landed on the roof facing him, his bat wings vanishing on his back. Slowly getting up from his knee, Archer noticed the technological suit of armor with a clear bat motif. From what Rin had told him about Blood Stalk, this man was likely his partner and one of the leaders of Faust.
"You can turn off that invisibility of yours," Night Rogue said, "I can see your electromagnetic signature right in front of me."
Knowing he was compromised, Archer disengaged his Astral Form to make himself visible. "So you can see me. That's a pretty badass suit you have. What else can it do?"
"Perhaps you'd like a demonstration," Night Rogue responded as he whipped out his Transteam Gun and fired on Archer. The red-clad man swerved and rolled away from the gunshots, not expecting the bullets to move that fast. As soon as he rolled to his knees, he whipped out his bow and returned fire with his arrows.
Night Rogue drew his Steam Blade and deflected the arrows before he spread his wings and took off. He fired at Archer from the air, prompting the Heroic Spirit to deflect with his bow. Night Rogue then came down and struck with his Steam Blade, causing sparks to fly as Archer blocked with his bow.
"You're a powerful specimen," Night Rogue acknowledged as they locked weapons.
"I am not your guinea pig," Archer frowned, his bow glowing as it transformed. Now wielding his twin dao blades, Archer broke through the weapon lock and struck with brutal slashes that erupted sparks from Night Rogue. As soon as the armored terrorist was knocked down, Archer leapt forward to bring down his swords. Night Rogue rolled out of the way as the blades came down and struck the roof, jumping to his feet to quickdraw his gun and fire another set of shots. The blasts coming too close, even for him, Archer was forced to to cross his swords, causing the swords to shatter out of his hands.
"Tch!" Archer grunted as his blades broke apart.
"Not very reliable weapons, are they?" Night Rogue remarked, lunging forward for the killing strike.
Archer suddenly smirked, and Night Rogue realized that he's been baited. His instinct proved correct when a duplicate set of swords, just like the ones that were destroyed, materialized into his hands. Just as Archer swiped his blades, Night Rogue jumped over and landed a distance away.
"You were saying?" Archer said, turning around.
"A minor miscalculation," Night Rogue answered back. "It shan't happen again."
Archer simply put himself into a combat form while his opponent did the same. He could make the fight easier for himself by using a bit more of his skills, but since it was still daylight out, anyone could see the fighting going on. Between keeping the Grail War secret and dealing with a man in a powered suit, it really did look like he had his work cut out from him.
Night Rogue rushed at Archer, both of their blades clashing against one another. Each of them parried and swerved around the strikes, with just rain of sparks and spits of blood just falling from whatever impact they managed to sneak in. Archer spun around to get behind him and stuck Night Rogue on the back. He recovered and fired another shot from his Transteam Gun, and Archer arched his back before moving in to attack again. Both men were determined to take down the other, and it seemed that both of them were not going to back away anytime soon.
Archer regarded his opponent. This man was skilled. Skilled enough to be a match for a Servant despite very likely being human. The weapon and armor was unlike anything he had seen before, certainly not in his past life. He wasn't sure of it before, but he doesn't recall anyone named Night Rogue or Blood Stalk from his memories. And now the flood of gas all but confirmed his suspicions that this Grail War was far different from the one he remembered. This really did not bode well for his plans at all.
"An employee of mine has explained to me the purpose of this Grail War," Night Rouge said as he continued fighting. "Summoning seven famous and mythological figures from history's past for a reality bending wish is quite the discovery. Forgive my curiosity but which legend are you? Robin Hood? Chiron? Although your way with the swords suggests you might be Lanling Wang."
"Why ruin the surprise?" Archer grunted, through his swings, "For all you know, I could be John F. Kennedy!"
Archer's power swing knocked Night Rouge hard enough for him to skid some feet away, but the man kept his ground, "The guessing game?" he snorted, "I've always been quite good at 20 Questions."
"Figured you to be the silent type, but I guess even the silent ones like talking once in a while," Archer said, shouldering his right sword. "In which case there's something I want to know. Normally I wouldn't care what happens beyond the Grail War, but since you people decided to butt in I haven't the time for apathy. What do you plan on gaining from gassing a random school building?"
"A simple experiment," Night Rogue answered. "We are trying to determine how effective the Nebula Gas would be when the dosage is given to multiple people at once. Based on our findings, we can determine how effective the Smash can be based around the subject's age. Putting that in regard, we have decided that a school building is an optimal choice."
"So you're trying to turn a school full of children into those Smash creatures?" Archer's eyes narrowed in disgust.
"It all depends on their Hazard Levels. Too low and they're already dead. If they have an adequate Hazard Level, then they'll become Smash. We're hoping to find candidates with a Hazard Level that is just right," Night Rogue explained.
"He'll stop you, you know," Archer reminded, getting into another stance.
"The Kamen Rider?" Night Rogue scoffed, likewise tensing his body. "I doubt it. At this rate of exposure, it would already be too late."
"Argh!" Rin screamed as she ducked another gout of flames. Flicking her finger, she sent a Gandr curse that hit the Burn Smash's body. At first, they seemed to work but the Burn Smash started to gain resistance to them. Roaring loudly, the Burn Smash rushed at Rin and the girl ran. She barely avoided a blast of flame that would've singed her twintails if she hadn't turned a corner.
Shirou would've been able to handle this, but he was busy fighting the other Smash who started to attack him. Also, the whole school was now full of Smash that were transformed from the faculty or the students.
Rin felt a hand touch her shoulder and spun around. She swung her hand to smack the offender but her wrist was caught. She soon saw who it was.
"Kozuki-sensei?" Rin blinked.
Soichirou Kozuki was Rin's strict homeroom teacher whose face never shifted from its stern emotionless state. There were rumors that the man was some kind of robot because of his behavior. He was extremely punctual, polite, and never lost his temper. His glare, however, was enough to make even the most unruly students submit to his authority. It was hard to believe he was a normal human with how scary he was.
And since the Nebula Gas had not affected him, he likely wasn't a normal human.
"Come with me. We need to evacuate," Kozuki-sensei commanded. Rin wanted to protest when she saw a Smash coming for Kozuki-sensei from behind.
"Look out!" Rin shouted. Her teacher released her wrist and spun on his heel. With inhuman strength, he threw a punch that knocked the Smash through a wall and onto its back. Kozuki-sensei flicked his wrist as he glared down at the Smash as it flailed on the floor.
"Let's go," Kozuki-sensei insisted as he and his student started their retreat.
"The gas isn't changing you, sensei?" Rin asked.
"It isn't changing you either from the looks of things," Kozuki-sensei replied sternly. "I can assume it has something to do with you being the Master of Archer, perhaps?"
Rin immediately stopped in her steps and stared at Kozuki-sensei, realizing what he was implying.
"We can discuss our opposition in the Grail War later," Kozuki-sensei said bluntly, not paying any heed to her reaction, "A temporary truce is in order right now if either of us are going to survive."
Rin gave a curt nod, "Fine, that much I can agree with."
As they were about to keep going, a wall of flame rose up before them. The Burn Smash stepped out of it, glaring at Rin and Kozuki-sensei.
"Burn...I'll burn you..." the Burn Smash growled, crest worms still falling from the holes in her body.
"Another one," Kozuki-sensei raised his fists. "You require discipline."
"No, we need to run," Rin insisted. "Unless you're fireproof, that is."
"No... I am not," Kozuki-sensei admitted, pausing as he lowered his fists.
"BUUURRRNNNN!" the Burn Smash roared and sent out a stream of flames. Kozuki-sensei immediately pushed himself and Rin to the floor, lying flat until the attack ended. Once the Burn Smash ended, the two of them got up and bolted. The Burn Smash soon gave chase, throwing fireballs at her prey.
'Shirou, I don't know how long I can hold her off. Please, hurry,' Rin thought.
The outer wall of the school blew up as a Smash was flying about from the hole in the wall. Build was holding on tightly from the bottom as he fired his Drill Smasher at the Smash. This Smash more than likely looked like a large bird in a black bodysuit, with the upper body covered in armor that was mainly red with green and yellow highlights. Its hands were large enough to make the arms look like wings. It seemed to be wearing a metal sombrero and had hypnotic black eyes with a face mask that resembled a beck.
"Oh, oh no! Crash landing! Brace for impact!" Build shouted as the Flying Smash crashed to the ground. He managed to tumble away and roll onto his knees. The Smash, however, was unamused as it had crashed into trash cans and was covered in filth.
"OK, we've got dozens of Smash who are out of control in there," Build began, getting up to his feet. "Rin's also trapped in there with them. Guess I'll have to spam my finishers." He took out the Fullbottles he had on him, calculating the Best Matches and Trial Forms he could use against the Smash horde. "I think, yes, I have the winning formula! But first, I gotta take care of this guy!"
"Harinezumi! Shobousya! Best Match!"
The Flying Smash came flying at Build. He quickly cranked his Build Driver to generate his Snap Ride Builder.
"Are You Ready? Rescue Kenzan! FireHedgehog! Yeah!"
Now, in his red and white FireHedgehog Best Match, Build was armed with the Multi Deluge Gun on his left arm and Spike Knuckle on his right. Quickly, he threw a volley of spikes from his right arm, striking the Flying Smash. It tried to avoid the spikes but Build was fast as he kept hitting it with his attack. The spikes struck the Flying Smash's wings, damaging them until it could no longer stay airborne.
"Ready, Go! Voltech Finish! Yeah!"
With the Flying Smash grounded, Build extended the Multi Deluge Gun and stabbed the Smash with it before filling it with water until it bloated up like a balloon. He withdrew his Multi Deluge Gun and jumped high into the air until he was perpendicular with the bloated Smash. He then fell, hitting the Smash with his Spike Knuckle. Popping like a balloon, the Flying Smash exploded.
Landing on his feet, Build quickly pulled out an empty bottle to draw the green gas left behind. Once it was recovered, the Smash reverted back to a human, said human being Issei. Build frowned grimly at his unconscious friend and looked back up at the gassed building. The sound of a car driving up in high speed caught his attention, turning around as he watched a volkswagen drift to the side and stop in front of him. Shochi stepped out of the car, fiddling with his glasses as he looked at the school building in disbelief.
"No wonder the Smash detector system is going haywire," Shochi said, taking off his glasses to wipe them with a loincloth, "This really isn't your day, Shirou."
"Glad you got here, boss," Build said, "But is it really a good time to suddenly show up like this?"
"With Saber-chan looking after the place I have a little more free time," Shochi justified with an assured smirk, "Besides, with all these Smash going around the place you're going to need more than the three or four empty bottles you have on you."
"Oh, yeah," Build nodded, looking at his recently collected Smash Bottle before tossing it over, "I just used this one."
Catching it in his hand, Shochi nodded before pulling out a briefcase from his car, "And you're going to need this," he said as Build took the case, "Still a pretty big mess, though. Too bad you're the only one. You might need the help."
Build looked at the back of his right hand, almost seeing his Command Seals glowing through them, "Yeah. I could," Build admitted. Shaking his head to himself back into gear, he pulled out the Fullbottles from his belt before shaking a new pair of Fullbottles, one magenta and another lime green, before inserting them into the slot.
"Octopus! Densya! Are You Ready?"
"Huh? Octopus!?" Shochi exclaimed in disbelief.
"Build Up!" Energy slammed into Build as he was put into a Trial Form, his Halfbodies in magenta and lime green respectively. His left arm seemed to resemble a train with his shoulder guard looking like a railway crossing bar, while his right shoulder had a guard that resembled an octopus head with tentacles growing out. The left helmet had railway tracks going over his eyepiece while the right looked like pink following ink for an eye. Embedded on the left side of his chest were also railway tracks. "Talk later!" Build shouted, pointing his right arm to shoot the Twist Lash Arm to the hole in the school and pull himself inside.
As soon as Build got inside the building, he was immediately noticed by a pair of Needle and Strong Smash. The Needle Smash blasted a score of spikes from its body, forcing Build to evade. With the essence of both the Octopus and Train Fullbottle, his agility greatly increased, allowing him to traverse all over the walls and ceiling as the spikes flew past him.
"Let's see what this bottle can do!" Shirou declared as he lunged at the Needle Smash. He cocked back his left arm and scored a hit with the Train Gauntlet, knocking the Needle Smash off its feet. The Strong Smash rushed at Build to try and smash him but the armoured Magus evaded the blow before he lashed out with his right arm. The tentacles that hung from his right shoulder immediately responded as they stretched and tightly bound the brute. The Strong Smash struggled but it could not break itself free from Build's Twist Lash Arm.
Meanwhile, the Needle Smash had climbed back to its feet. Build immediately noticed this and with incredible strength, he swung and threw the Strong Smash into the Needle Smash, knocking it down again. The Strong Smash's body had the Needle Smash pinned to the ground and neither of them could get back up.
"Ready, Go! Voltech Attack!"
The Twist Lash Arm stretched across the hallway to grab the two Smash. They struggled in Build's grip as he cocked back his Train Gauntlet. An energy projection formed over him and took the shape of a bullet train. The ghost train honked as Build was propelled forward as he pulled the Smash towards him at the same time. The attack struck with explosive force, the windows of the floor shattering from the resulting impact. Once the Smash were downed, he quickly gathered the gas and turned the Smash back to normal. Almost immediately after, more Smash appeared and swung at him, forcing him to double back.
"They're like weeds," Build frowned as he swapped his bottles and twisted the crank.
"Kagayaki no Destroyer! GorillaMond! Yeah!"
He made his armour shine like a beacon and all other the Smash turned to look at him, completely forgetting that they were fighting each other. Just like animals, they were attracted to shiny things.
"Hey, Smash! Come and catch me!" Build taunted. He ran, leading the Smash on a chase. They nearly trampled over each other trying to catch him but he did not stop running until he was out of the school building. Once he was in the schoolyard, he saw the Smash all come barreling out the door. He waited until all of them were out. He just hoped there weren't any stragglers. Now that they were all in one place, it was easier to take them out all at once.
Build turned the crank of his Driver rapidly, pumping his FullBottles repeatedly
"Ready, Go! Voltech Finish! Yeah!"
He punched the ground with the Gorilla Fist and huge diamond spikes burst out around the smash, fencing them. The diamond spikes converged on the Smash, squeezing them against each other, leaving them no room to move or escape. Raising his hand, Build summoned a million diamond shards that hovered over the fence, each shard sharpened into blades. With a swift gesture, he swung it down and the impact caused the massive explosion. As it cleared, more green smug hovered over the beaten Smash.
Build didn't waste time as he withdrew the empty bottles and sucked up their Smash essence to add to his collection, allowing the Smash to form back into the students and teachers. Looking around he noticed there was hardly any Nebula Gas in the schoolyard. Most of it had also dissipated from the building.
"Can't keep going on like this. I have to get to Tohsaka and Sakura," Build muttered, looking at his Gorilla Fist. "Do I summon Saber? Or keep going on my own?"
On one hand, he still wasn't sure how the amount of Nebula Gas was going to affect a being entirely made up of Magecraft. It could get her weak, make her abilities not work properly, or worse. On the other hand, Saber already proved very helpful by showing she was more than a match for Night Rouge. Not to mention she would get upset if he didn't tell her anything again. Shaking his head, he made up his mind. Rising up his Gorilla Fist, his Command Seals shined through.
"Saber... by the power of my Command Seals, I order you to come to me," Build shouted, "Saber!"
His hand throbbed as the first third of his Command Seal vanished, the order being made. A burst of light blinded him, the air rippling with mana. As soon as the light vanished, there was Saber in all her glory. Opening her eyes as she stood from her kneeling position, she began to address Build. "I have come by the command of your order. What is the situation?"
"Faust has gassed the school building and turned everyone inside into Smash," Build answered. Saber looked at the building, seeing that the gas was still spilling out and saw several walls and windows broken, "Tohsaka is trapped inside and I think she's being chased by one of them."
"Then we must go," Saber urged, nodding. "Save Archer's Master. I will hold off the Smash for you."
"Are you sure you can handle them?" Build asked, "The gas isn't as much as it was but there's still plenty, and the Smash can only be reverted back to normal with a Vortex Finish."
"You needn't worry," Saber reassured as she held up her invisible sword, "I can manipulate my Invisible Air to blow out the Nebula Gas before it can touch me. As for turning them back, I'll have to hold out as long as I can. Now, we must make haste!"
Build nodded as he and Saber ran into the school building and, as predicted, they were noticed by the few remaining Smash inside. Saber reacted fast as she held up her sword, and a small tornado suddenly appeared in her hands.
"Roar, Invisible Air!"
She thrust her sword forward, causing a cyclone to blast the Smash out of their path. Build gave a thumbs up as he went on his way to find Rin, quickly following a trail of scorch marks. As for Saber, she stood sternly in the shoe locker room as the Smash rose back to their feet. Watching the biomechanical creatures tread toward her, she readied her sword.
Kozuki-sensei grunted as he held his snapped arm. His suit was charred, his glasses were broken as blood leaked from his forehead. Leaning on the wall, he should have looked pathetic, but the defiant stare on his face somehow made him more intimidating despite his injuries. He was able to knock away most of the other Smash with little to no issue at all, but the Burn Smash was a different matter. Her power to manipulate fire ment that he had a hard time getting around her defenses without getting burned himself. Not to mention that the gas was messing with his state boosts, meaning he was literally fighting bare handed. He did throw in several strong blows, but the Burn Smash proved to be determined in burning his student alive. Thankfully he still managed to prevent the gas from mutating him by halting his lungs and closing off his pores. It was his past teachings that were preventing him from falling into the same curse as the others.
Deciding he wasn't going to move anytime soon, the Burn Smash returned her attention to Rin. The Tohsaka heiress could only look back at her sister who wanted to see her burn. Honestly, Rin felt she deserved it. She had abandoned her sister and refused to even acknowledge her. True, it was her parent's decision but even she should have known it was wrong. Being a child was no excuse for discarding family. And her own parents had paid the price in the end.
"Sakura..." Rin said. "I'm sorry..."
The Burn Smash either did not hear her or cared to hear her. She pointed her flamethrower and the funnel started to blaze...
"Rescue Kenzan! FireHedgehog! Yeah!"
The Burn Smash was hit by a blast of water that caused her to cry out in pain. Being a fire-based Smash, being hit by water was akin to being splashed by acid. Forgetting about Rin, the Burn Smash turned around to see Build standing before her.
"Emiya!" Rin cried.
"Tohsaka, are you-" Build began to say, but paled under his mask as soon as he saw Kozuki sense there. At that moment, he knew he just outed himself, "I... I mean are you alright you miss? I am glad to see that you're alive and well!" he stuttered lamely, trying to do a bad impression of a certain strange visitor from another planet.
"Don't play me like some sort of fool, boy. Tohsaka isn't the type to lie," Kozuki-sensei frowned, "And I have known you to be the Masked Rabbit the entire time."
"That's Kamen Rider Build, to you!" Build quickly snapped.
The retort resulted in a stern glare from the teacher as if to say "excuse me?".
"Urh... I mean, sir!" Build gulped as the Burn Smash aimed at him. She fired a gout of flame at Build who countered with a blast of high-pressure water, filling the area with steam as both attacks collided. The Burn Smash ran through the steam and tackled Build, pinning him against the wall as she blasted the flamethrower right into his face, causing him to squirm from the heat. His Harinezumi Halfbody exploded with spikes, causing the Burn Smash to recoil in pain. He kept putting on pressure by throwing punches and jabs of spikes, adding in a spiked knee bash to send her flying across the room and crashing through a wall.
"RAAAAAAHHH!" the Burn Smash screamed as she spazzed around on her back, fire exploding from her holes. Rin and Kozuki-sense were forced to back away as Build shot water to put out the flames. A desk was suddenly thrown at him, forcing him to shield his face as it crashed against him. Distracted, the Burn Smash was able to move forward again, propelling herself with flames, laying a hard crash against him and pinned him to the ground. Before he was able to eject his spikes again, she quickly got up and grabbed him by the shoulders and threw him into the ceiling. The impact left an imprint as he dropped down. The Burn Smash waited and gave him a heavy stomp kick that caused him to crash through the adjacent wall that lead into another classroom.
As Build was getting up on his feet, he quickly had to duck and cover as the Burn Smash jumped through and swung her flamethrower at his head like a sword. Twisting back to his feet, Build fired a water stream. The Burn Smash vomited out a fire breath, making another cloud of hot steam explode between them. The steam cloud covered Build, and he used this chance to switch forms.
"Kagayaki no Destroyer! GorillaMond! Yeah!"
The Burn Smash wasted no time to blast another stream of fire at Build. Now with higher defense, Build was able to stand still as the flames licked his suit, causing his body to appear more dazzling thanks to the effects of his Diamond Halfbody. He matched right up to the Smash and smashed his giant fist into its face, causing her to screech as she pulled back. As he moved to land another hit, the Burn Smash quickly engulfed her fist to throw out a punch of her own. Both punches struck at the same time, causing a burst of energy to explode from the duel hits.
"That doesn't look good," Kozuki-sensei said gruffly as he continued watching the fight, "She's adapting to his movements just as she did to me. Considering the transformation that turned Matou into that creature, she seemed to have gained some type of knowledge in reading combat stances."
"If she's just adapting to what he can do, he's back to square one, isn't he?" Rin asked.
"It appears so," Kozuki-sensei frowned, "Unless he has something that can break out of her focus. Something that can disorent her."
"Something that can..." Rin muttered in thought before looking over at Build rolling out from another fire blast, "Emiya-kun! Can you disorient her somehow?"
Build looked up from his crystal shield, "Disorient? I think I can do that!" He looked back at the Scorch Smash as she lunged at him. Kicking the shield at her to force her back, he pulled out his Fullbottles and took out new ones, his Octopus bottle and his new yellow bottle. Shaking them together, he twisted them open and inserted them into his belt. Immediately, he cranked his belt as the 3D printer tech formed out and gathered the magenta and yellow gas to solidify into new suits.
"Octopus! Light! Best Match! Are You Ready?"
"Build Up!" he uttered. The Halfbodies snapped against him together, forming his new suit. Along with his Octopus half, his new half seemed to shine brightly. The left arm was mostly yellow with a light bulb on his shoulder and a small searchlight on his forearm. A lightning bolt was also embedded on his chest. The right side on his mask was also yellow and his several lightning bolt shapes formed together to shape his other eyepiece.
"Inazuma Technician! OctopusLight! Yeah!"
"An octopus and a light bulb," Rin muttered in disbelief, "Yet another weird superpower you've pulled out of your ass."
"Hrrm," Kozuki-sensei just grumbled as he continued to observe.
The Burn Smash paid no mind to the new transformation, snarling as she went into another charge. The BLD Light Bulb Shoulder on Build's shoulder gave off a bright flash of light that illuminated the room. The Burn Smash recoiled back as she shielded her face, both Rin and Kozuki-sensei doing the same. The lightbulb faded, and afterwards the Twist Lash Arm grabbed hold of the ledge on the ceiling to pull himself up. He swung around with swift kicks landing against the blinded Burn Smash. He landed back down to thrust more kicks and punches as the Smash's vision began to return. As soon as she began to retaliate with her attacks, Build locked her flamethrower into his arm and shoved the Shade Breaker at her face. The blinds opened and light flashed through, causing her to scream as she was blinded again. The tentacles on his other arm wrapped around her tightly, lifting her up before smashing her against the walls and ceiling, spinning her around and smashing her to the ground. The tentacles loosened up and released her to let her stand, but the Burn Smash was too dazed and disoriented to stand properly
"Hold tight a little while more, Sakura," Build said as he cranked his belt, "A heavy one's coming. So, clench your teeth!"
"Ready, Go!"
Build pointed the shoulder-head of the Twist Lash Arm and it spat out an orb of jet-black ink at the Burn Smash. The orb swallowed up the Smash, trapping her inside. The tentacles lashed out and pulled the orb closer as Build ran in for a punch. Both the BLD Light Bulb Shoulder and the Shade Breaker flashed brightly, electricity coursing through his arm.
"Vortex Finish! Yeah!"
Buld gave out a battle cry as he rammed his lightning charged fist into the black orb, causing it to flash with lightning before it exploded in yellow sparks and green flames. The Burn Smash's breathing was ragged, as if she was trying to stay conscious. Seeing the green gas starting to escape from her body, Build acted quickly and pressed an empty bottle into her chest. The gas was absorbed, allowing the Burn Smash to revert into the form of Sakura Matou. The girl gave a tired grunt as she fell into Build's arms. Feeling her heartbeat, Build gave off a sigh of relief.
"Sakura!" Seeing her little sister back to normal, Rin quickly ran towards them and grabbed Sakura and in a tight hug. Build was astonished as he watched the uptight Magus hugging their koihai, a small tear escaping her eye, "I'm so sorry, Sakura," Rin whispered, "I'm not going to let you go again. I swear I never will."
Kozuki-sensei watched unnoticed at the sight, his impassive face unreadable as ever.
Blurs of black and red moved about on the roof outside the building, still. Archer was constantly switching back and forth between Kanshou & Bakuya and his bow as his enemy was dual wielding with his Steam Blade and Transteam Gun. In the midst of his fighting he was still conserving his mana, being careful not to expose his trump cards or attract unwanted eyes. But Night Rogue proved to be very relentless. Despite being a non-Magus with a technological suit of armor, he was a near match for him. If it had been any other situation, Archer would have been impressed and would have wanted to tinker with the suit himself.
Archer caught his swords in midair as he charged for another attack. Night Rogue suddenly ejected his wings and took off, suspending himself in the air. The knight in red immediately stopped, anticipating another attack, but Night Rouge remained stagnant.
"Seems like we have run short on time," Night Rogue said.
"Oh?" Archer asked curiously, "Is that right?"
"The gas in the school has largely disappeared by now," Night Rogue replied, pointing at Homurahara. Archer slowly turned his eyes at the school while keeping his attention focused on his opponent. There was almost no gas falling from the school with just a few vapes of it remaining in some few random corners. "And with the chaos that has been happening a few eyes would have called the authorities by now. And lucky you, clear cut evidence of gas leaks."
"Well, don't let me stop you as you go off running home," Archer mocked.
"Don't be conceited. I already have the data I require," Night Rogue sneered. Steam exploded from his vents and encased him from Archer's sight. Archer realized what he meant by his words and quickly transmogrified his swords into his bow and aimed it at his target. He shot a straight and true arrow at the gas cloud at jet-like speeds, the bow exploding in the cloud. The explosion settled, but to Archer's annoyance there was no sign of the bat anywhere.
Archer grimaced as he turned his gaze at Homurahara. There was already a crowd starting to gather around the school, everyone taking videos and photos from their cells. He never believed in the concept of luck but began to curse his own rotten excuse for fortune. The Holy Grail War had only just started a few days ago and already things had been derailed to hell. There was no telling how things were going to be handled going forward. Sirens echoed down the street as police, firefighters and paramedics bolted down and stopped at the school. Knowing that his little stint could attract people all the same, he quickly entered Astral form and departed.
The police, firefighters, and paramedics worked feverishly to control the crowd and get victims to hospitals. Unconscious teachers and students were being carted away on stretchers with breather masks on them. Meanwhile, police officers in hazmat suits were carefully investigating the building to look for anyone who was left. Between the gas and the property damage to the place, it seemed like the school was going to be closed for the time being. Only three survivors were left accounted for; a teacher and two students.
The paramedics slowly carried Sakura to the stretcher with a respirator mask strapped to her face and quickly carted her off to the next ambulance. Rin, who was being observed by another paramedic, noticed and forced herself up to after them, "Wait! Let me go with them!"
"What's your relationship with her?" one of the other paramedics asked her.
"She's my... kohai," Rin answered hesitantly, "We're very familiar with each other."
The paramedic sighed, "Climb in then. You'll need to be taken to hospital as well, either way."
Nodding, Rin followed the paramedics inside the ambulance as the doors closed. One of the officers tapped the side of the van, signaling it to go. The sirens blared and drove off. Some feet away, Shirou watched guilty as he was being observed by another parametric.
Inside the ambulance, Rin mournfully, held Sakura's hand in hers. It felt worryingly cold, and she never imagined she would see her like this. What worried her more was the state she was in as a Smash. She was full of rage and hatred at her, anger at being sent away and how Rin didn't do anything to stop it. And the Crest Worms that were crawling out of her. Why did she have those? The elder sister brought the younger sister's hand closer to her face. "Sakura, I know nothing I say can change what our father did to you," Rin whispered slowly, "When he gave you up, he did it because he didn't want us to fight over ownership of the family crest. I know it doesn't mean much after all these years, but I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't say anything. Sorry I was such a terrible sister. Sorry that I never saw how much you were suffering."
Atop of the ambulance, Archer sat atop completely unseen, a solemn frown on his face.
Miyama-Ryuudou Shrine
The day's events had given Caster the scare of her life as she was scrying Homurahara Academy when she saw the Nebula Gas flooding the school and turning students and teachers alike into monsters, something that before today she thought was only possible through magic like hers. Back then when she was watching Saber and her Master dealing the Faust and their Smash was nothing of her concern; it was just their problem. But now it was a different matter. Now these people had indirectly threatened her beloved Soichirou. It was nerve-racking and sent her into a near-panic when she realized she couldn't do anything about the Nebula Gas. At the very least, it did give her the opportunity to spend extra time alone with her dear Master. Kozuki did not stay long with the paramedics. As soon as it was made clear that the Nebula Gas was no longer active, Caster instantly appeared next to him and hypnotized the paramedics into letting him go, making them report that Kozuki was of good health and didn't require medical attention. At the moment, the two were in his personal study area as Caster tended to his wounds.
"My deepest apologies, Soichirou-sama," the Caster quietly apologized, mending Kozuki with a magic circle as her Master sat comfortably on his chair, "As soon as I saw the gas engulfing the school I tried to spirit you away to safety. Unfortunately, my magic was being interfered with somehow."
"If what Kotomine said is true, it was likely the gas itself that prevented you from acting. The enchantments you bestowed on me were disabled as soon as the gas engulfed the school," Kozuki replied ever so stoically. "You have not yourself to blame, Caster. We were both unprepared for the lengths Faust was willing to go."
"Indeed," Caster nodded, "There were quite a few atrocities committed by both mankind and gods during my era, but none like I have just witnessed. It was quite unnerving."
"Yes," Kozuki noted, his eyes narrowing, "And they had the audacity to use my students. Among our objectives I would also like to find Faust's stronghold. I wish to pay them a visit... and then I will break their necks."
"Then I shall help you," Caster said, her burning gaze matching his, "If they are your enemies then they are mine as well. If you wish for me to pry open their ribs, then I shall. And there is the matter of that wrench who burned you so..."
"She was not in control of herself," Kozuki brushed off, "Going after her is pointless."
"Of course. I got carried away," the Servant of Spells and Sorcery apologized again, "Still there are those two who were also unaffected by the gas. Saber and Archer's Masters. You and Saber's Master I can understand, but Archer's Master is a mystery. How was she able to resist the Nebula Gas' curse?"
Rin Tohsaka had truly become an enigma now. A talented student in both academics as well as Magecraft with a promising future, the fact that she is unaffected by the Nebula Gas is almost concerning. As far as he knew, she didn't have any advanced training that would prepare her for such matters. Though in all fairness neither did Shirou Emiya, but he had his mysterious armor suit to confiscate for that. But Rin didn't have such equipment. For now, it didn't look like she was connected to the organization that attacked Homurahara Academy and it didn't appear that she had much to gain from them given that she appeared to follow the basic mage teachings of distancing herself from science and technology. And yet there was still something about her from today that he was able to discern.
"It doesn't appear she knows anything herself at the moment," Kozuki decided after going though the thought process for a nanosecond, "For now, Faust has proven themselves to be a greater threat than the other Masters at this point. We will deal with them accordingly before going onward if they wish to interfere with the Grail War."
"And if the Master of Archer proves to be just as much of a threat?" Caster ventured.
Kozuki closed his eyes as a stern grimace pressed his mouth, "Then... we will just kill her."
Miyama-Nascita
After getting released from the hospital, Shirou was down in his top-secret underground lab under Nascita, going over the events from earlier. The attack on his school was the boldest move Faust had committed. It was by a stroke of luck that no one had died there, meaning that their Hazard Levels were just high enough to prevent fatalities. Though, he suspected that the students might suffer from memory loss. Of course, not everyone who was exposed to the Nebula Gas was turned. Rin had not turned into a Smash and neither did Kozuki-sensei. Blood Stalk's words were still floating in his head. The fact that Rin didn't transform was because she was already a Smash. But how could that be? How was she a Smash and at the same time human? And how was Kozuki-sensei unaffected? It wasn't like he was also augmented, was it?
"Hey, Shirou! Hey, I'm talking to you!" Misora bemoaned, teetering the older teen on his chair. To her irritated frustration, Shirou remained immoble with that spaced out face. A rumble escaped from her throat as she stood up straight and shoved him from his seat. Shirou stumbled to the floor and looked up at her in surprise. "So, are you awake now?" she asked as she held her hands over her hips.
"You didn't have to push me," Shirou grumbled.
"I was talking to you about Saber but you were too busy looking stupefied," Misora told him, "She just disappeared all of sudden and it freaked me out! Her clothes went flying and the customers went into a panic! What in the world happened?!"
"Sorry about that, Misora. She was testing my new teleportation tech," Shirou lied.
"Well next time warn us first. Dad told me about what Faust did to your school so seeing her explode like that scared the daylights out of me!" Misora continued, exasperated.
"We did not mean to frighten you, Misora," Saber interrupted as she came down from the stairs, "I was only helping out Shirou with something and it went off spontaneously. It surprised both of us and had been ill prepared for it, sorry to say."
"And the fact that your clothes went flying? It'd be pretty bad if you ended up somewhere with a lot of people while buck naked," the hikikomori pressed.
"I ended up in the park and no one else was present," Saber reassured her without batting an eye. "It was only an accident that we were able to quickly amend. There's no need to keep going further than that." Shirou looked pretty amazed. If it were any other girl, she'd be blushing up a storm after a comment like that.
"Sure, sure," Misora sighed, sitting down on a chair, "It looks like you won't be going to school for a while after what's happened. What are you going to do now?"
"Well for one thing this means that now I have more time to help around the cafe," Shirou affirmed as he went into deep thought again, "And I have more opportunities to work on more tech to help me out with the Smash. Oh, and then there's the Grail War to worry about, but that's on hold thankfully."
"Grail War?" Misora blinked as she heard the last statement under his breath, "What's that? Some kind of online tournament?"
"Huh?" Shirou vividly shook out from his stupor as he looked back at her, "Uh, yeah! See, it's a game tournament being held at my school! But thanks to Faust it's pretty much canceled now!"
"That's funny. I didn't expect you to be the type to like video games," Misora quipped, "No offense but you seem more like a housemaid than a gamer."
"Hey, I have hobbies too," Shirou insisted, trying to keep up with the lie. "And with my genius and mad skillz, I'd be an awesome gamer."
"You think you can be the next Legendary Gamer M?" Misora scoffed. "Please."
"Who is this M?" Saber asked curiously.
"An online streamer who plays games in a mask and doctor's coat for some reason or another. Never takes them off so nobody knows who he is," Misora answered. "He gets tons of views for his content too."
"I see," Saber nodded.
"But seriously, your school really is a mess. Sure Faust did make attacks on buildings before but a school is a first," Misora remarked. "Those guys mean business."
"A declaration of war, perhaps?" Saber suggested.
"No, Blood Stalk said it was an experiment," Shirou frowned. "We can pretty much guess what he meant by that." Shirou's eyes widened as he remembered something, "Oh, almost forgot. Two people weren't transformed by the Nebula Gas. One of them was Tosahka-san."
Saber blinked in surprise, "Her?"
"Who's that?" Misora asked.
"A girl from my school. Almost as smart as me," Shirou answered. "She's the top idol there and really is that pretty to look at, but as I've found out a few days ago after we first met she has a hidden bite."
"Oh?" Misora hummed, leaning over with her hands on her knees as she eyed Shirou intensely, "Oh-ho-ho?"
"Uh... what is?" Shirou wondered as he leaned back nervously.
"I recognize that description anywhere," Misora said, plopping her hand into her fist, "Yep, a definite Tsundere. Pretty, popular, and a sassy attitude. And from the looks of things, one that's already interested in you. And as a bonus she doesn't call you a pervert and belt you into the atmosphere every five minutes I wager."
"I wouldn't go as far as saying she's interested in that way," Shirou postulated, "And where did you get the idea for someone getting knocked into the air anyway?"
"You know. That stereotype in anime where Tsundere girls always beat up the guys they're supposed to like?" Misora profiled.
"In that case, lucky for me this isn't some anime," Shirou grumbled sarcastically.
"And who was the other one who was unaffected by the Nebula Gas," Saber prodded.
"Tosahka-san's homeroom teacher. Kozuki-sensei," Shirou answered.
"Is that so?" Saber hummed in thought. "So there are two people you know who remained unchanged by the Nebula Gas. Do you know a possible reason?"
"Their Hazard Level," Shirou answered. Before anyone could ask, he hopped over to his whiteboard and grabbed a marker. He drew a line and marked different points with 1, 2, and 3 before writing Hazard Level on top. "OK, so a person's Hazard Level is basically their resistance to the Nebula Gas. Anyone with a Hazard Level between 1.0 and 1.9 would die once they were exposed to the gas. People with a Hazard Level of 2, however, would be converted into Smash. Only people with a Hazard Level above 2 would have a higher resistance to Nebula Gas and only have a slower transformation to Smash."
"So like Tohsaka and Kozuki," Saber concluded.
"Exactly. Even the Build Driver needs a user with a high enough Hazard Level, someone like yours truly."
"And yours is three or above," Misora noted.
"Exactly," Shirou nodded as he plugged the cap on his marker. "Well, there was something that I just remembered. Blood Stalk said that Tohsaka is already a Smash."
Both Saber and Misora looked taken aback. "But how? She still looks and acts completely human," Saber said in disbelief.
"I did say that people with Hazard Levels above 2 had higher resistances," Shirou reminded them, "But Tohsaka-san wasn't turning at all, and Blood Stalk wouldn't go about saying things like that without some kinda motive. I don't trust what he said, but that's all we have to go on."
"So? How did she take it?" Misora asked.
"Not well. Can't really imagine what she's going through right now, on top of everything else," Shirou sighed, thinking back to the sight of her sobbing as Sakura laid unconscious in her arms. "As for Kozuki-sensei, I don't really have an explanation for why he didn't turn. Maybe his situation is the same as hers. I might need to find a way to talk to him. Though tomorrow I'm gonna visit everyone at the hospital to see if they're alright."
"That place is gonna be packed. Seems like you might need to take the day off and I say you need it right now," Misora continued.
"Yeah, it's looking that way," Shirou admitted. "I'll let Boss know about it soon. At any point, I've got some Fullbottles that need purifying. Sorry Misora, it's quite a lot."
"Yeah, yeah, I got you covered," Misora muttered as she stood up and went to the Purification Chamber.
Miyama-Matou Manor
Zouken's wrinkled and aged face gave a deep frown. Something had gone very wrong. For the past hour he had been sensing his crest worms going silent. One after another he could no longer sense them. As if something had happened to snuff the life out of them, which shouldn't be possible. Crest worms were not that easy to get rid of, he most certainly made sure of that. Within an hour, only a few worms were left, and they had become weak, very weak. That wasn't going to do. Sending his familiars, he saw the cause. Toxic gas had flooded the school and turned the students and teachers there into creatures of metallic flesh, his adopted granddaughter among them. It was a shame, she was almost the way he intended her to be, but it appeared fate had decided to screw him over once again.
The aging patriarch of the Matou clan was by no means pleasant. He was every bit as twisted and self-serving as his appearance suggested. His face was goblin-esk, he was bald, and beady eyes peered through his sockets. All he had on was green house robes and he just had a cane to help him walk. Despite his feeble appearance, Zouken was cruel, spiteful, hateful, and had nothing but contempt for everything. During his glory days, he was rather handsome, but they were all behind him now. The decaying magical bloodline of his lineage has left Zouken becoming more and more desperate as the years went by. And as the years, even decades, passed his dream for immortality continued to slip further away from him. After the pathetic welp that was his son died like the sick dog he was in the 4th Grail War, it looked like he would never see his wish granted. However, it was by a stroke of luck that the next Grail War appeared in just ten years. Thus it was truly fortunate that he had adopted a granddaughter with such gifted magical potential, and as such forced her to summon Rider as her Servant. His biological grandson proved to be yet another disappointment that plagued their family, but he was at least useful as a proxy. All Zouken had to do now was wait a little while longer before he began his own final phases to secure his immortality.
Then came an emergency announcement from Kotomine. A group called Faust had discovered the existence of the Holy Grail War and plotted to use it to their own ends. According to the priest they utilized super technology that allowed them to fight on even footing with Servants, and were also looking for the Servants as a means to adapt and upgrade their technology. They also used a mysterious substance known as Nebula Gas that, when in contact, caused Magecraft to have bizarre effects that were detrimental.
What a load of crap.
Zouken didn't believe any of that, obviously. He had been alive long enough to know that magic was superior. It was why he was able to live as long as he did. No pharmaceutical appliances were capable of such things. There was no merit in being wary of new age welps who believed that they were on top of the world because they had flashy machines. Magi would blow them away in a heartbeat and would not lose any sleep over it. Damn kids. All they do is play games. They're all alike.
He was forced to reevaluate his opinion of Faust today after they gassed his grandchildren's school. He was aware that Shinji had planned on using Rider's Blood Fort Andromeda as a means to gain more mana. As weak as the boy was, he was ambitious where it counted. Zouken would have scoffed at him running at the first sign of the gas but it seemed Shinji's cowardness actually saved him this time. Seeing the gas transform everyone in the building, save for three, did show that Faust meant business. It was a declaration of war. It was the only possible reason for why they would go to such lengths. They had the power to confront Masters and Servants and proved what they could do. The brazen act almost impressed him.
Then there was that Emiya boy and his strange armor. It was unlike anything he had ever seen. So many strange and powerful abilities that allowed him to match a Servant. He was also skilled in combat and able to adapt to any situation. Perhaps if his family had adopted the boy, they could have become powerful, but he had just been a nameless orphan that Kiritsugu had taken pity on. He was not supposed to have any potential as a mage and yet he was able to create such a powerful Mystic Code. After all, what else could it be but high-level Magecraft. As if something created by mortal science could be so impressive. If Shinji had that suit, maybe he would be a little less of a disgrace.
Something that strong would be better suited under his eyes. With a Mystic Code like that, he'd be capable of crushing anyone foolish enough to get in his way. No Servants, no Command Seals, just power in that belt and whoever wore it. He is much too frail to use a strengthening device, but there could be other uses for it. It had proven its worth plenty of times. This Mystic Code was something he needed to- no, something he must obtain. The question though was how to go about getting it. The Emiya boy was close to his grandchildren, that much he knew. He received a call from the hospital that Sakura would be confined for the time being after the mysterious gas leak, meaning that she was out of the scenario for the moment. He'd have to replenish the crest worms later as well, since she would no doubt be well guarded. That left Shinji to do the deed for him. Maybe the weak criten had a few more uses left in him.
So it was very good fortune that the grandson of his just returned to the manor with Rider present with him. Deciding to see it done, he approached the boy as his cane clicked against the marble floor. Shinji quickly noticed the old man walking to him and grimaced in cowardness while the Servant remained impassive as she watched.
"Boy, it appears that I have need of you once more," Zouken spoke, his gravelly voice not even bothering with formalities.
"What is it, grandpa?" Shinji asked.
"The Emiya boy. He's in your class, correct?" Zouken didn't bother to wait for an answer, "He has a Mystic Code that allows him to fight on par with Servants. I trust you have seen it's abilities?"
"Yeah, I did," Shinji nodded. "He had these bottles that let him do the things he could do. They were weirdly specific."
"Good. That at least shows you were paying close attention," Zouken's way of showing praise was never kindly, that much Shinji knew. His eyebrows furrowed slightly but he didn't react any other way. "Get as close to him as much as you can. Do whatever you feel necessary, I don't care how. Follow him. Observe him. Then when the moment is right, take the Mystic Code. Prove to me that there is still some usefulness left in you."
Shinji's fist clenched tightened behind his back. He wanted so badly to deck the old geezer's face to knock the mummified bastard off his high horse. But even he knew that would end badly for him. To that end, he had no other option but to swallow his ego again, "Yes grandpa."
"Be sure you don't screw this up. You already know how much I despise failure," Zouken left Shinji and Rider after saying this, retreating to his basement. It annoyed him how he had to constantly rely on his grandson to continue to play the role as Master in his steed, but he was running out of options. If not for that blasted Caster of this Grail War finding a loophole to summon a Servant of her own, he would have summoned an extra Servant for his own exclusive use to hasten his plans. However, the "Seven of Seven" failsafe prevented Masters from summoning more than one Servant to prevent a party from getting an extra leverage on the competition. As much of an annoyance it was, Zouken just needed to work quickly to gather as much mana as he could into his familiars, and more importantly, prepare a vessel for the Grail's spirit. This time for certain, he would make sure to succeed.
As bad as things were before, Faust opened a brand new opportunity for him.
"Shitty old man! Bastard! Raisin face! Who the hell does he think he is?! Shit! Shit!"
Rider watched boredly as she witnessed her Master craving a new hole into his bedroom wall with his foot. He spent the past half hour screaming profanities and hitting whatever he could find to sooth his rage. Although she wasn't here for very long, she could see that his temper was getting worse by the day. He usually took out his stress on the young boys in the Archery Club but circumstances unknown to her put a stop to that. It looked like he was just going to take out his wrath on anything he could find for now, especially with the school more than likely being temporarily shut down due to the events that took place today, and also especially since his sister would be in the hospital recovering from the mysterious gas leak.
The poor girl.
Shinji sat on his bed and let out hard breaths from his outburst, staring at the hole in his wall, "Rider, make a note. Remind me to get Sakura to fix this hole once she gets back."
"Yes... Master," Rider nodded, her voice slipping at the mention of Sakura.
"As much as it pains me to say it, grandpa is right," Shinji continued to seeth, "Emiya's belt isn't like some other Mystic Code. Yeah, it does give enhanced abilities to the people using them, but only a few of them are able to fight on the same level as Servants. Those are usually made by mages that are totally top tear like that boss of Clock Tower." Shinji's eyes lit up, "Oh, I get it..."
"Master?" Rider asked, hearing the realization in his voice.
"There's no way a half-wit mage like Emiya could make something so cool like that. A top rank magus had to have given it to him," Shinji whispered under his breath as he rubbed his chin, "And if I remember right, Tohsaka wants to get to London so she can study directly under the master of the Clock Tower. I think his name was... Zelretch or something. Some other old bag of bones. And that belt was a Mystic Code he created and is using the Grail War was a test run. Oh yeah, now it's all making sense."
"So you are suggesting that Rin Tohsaka made a deal of sort of with a True Magician and passed it on to Shirou Emiya?" Rider questioned.
"Of course I am!" Shinji spat as he stood up and glared at Rider, "Even a weakass magus can surpass a normal person with the right Mystic Code! That bit of him making that belt himself was just a lie to keep anyone from finding out where it really came from!"
"Hm," Rider just let Shinji ramble on. She had her own suspicions about Saber's Master after the encounter with Blood Stalk the other day, but she had no reason to tell. Shinji shut her up before she could say anything after all. "We are going to steal the belt from him for your grandfather, then?"
"Heheh," a twisted grin split across Shinji's face, "Oh we'll steal it, alright. But for gramps? As if. If Emiya can use it, why shouldn't I? And then the old fart won't be able to do jack once I hold all the power." A self-satisfied smirk slipped on his features as he gripped his hips and looked up with a huge sense of pride, "It's actually brilliant. I should've thought of it sooner. No Servants, no Command Seal. Just power to whoever has that belt. It's decided, Rider. That belt is as good as mine."
Let it be known that Shinji had a massive inferiority-superiority complex. Born in one of the three families that began the first Holy Grail War, he should have had everything an heir should have; power, prestige, and lineage. That was what he believed for a long time until ten years ago when his grandfather adopted Sakura into the family. At first, he didn't think all that much of her. Things did start amicably between them, until he discovered her training in the Matou Magic Arts in the basement. Shinji was completely distraught. He demanded to know from Zouken why Sakura was training in the magus arts when he was the heir. Zouken flat out told him that he had absolutely no talent in magic and he adopted the girl to replace him as the heir to the family. Shinji's world shattered that day and he was never the same again, taking out his grievances and frustrations on the bitch who stole everything from him. But as the days went on, the satisfaction lasted shorter. He flaunted his family's money to go out with girls, became a social butterfly, just to show that he still had some form of power, but the knowledge of Sakura just being adopted to replace him was still fresh in his mind.
When the 5th Grail War approached, he saw this as an opportunity to show the world what he could do. Sakura was way too much of a wimp to go into the battle, so Shinji was given command of Rider to fight in her steed. This was just fine for him since this could prove that he was better than her after all. As long as Rider followed his commands, things would go fine. And then eventually he would use the power of the Holy Grail to become a true mage and show the world that he deserved to be on top. His plans to use Blood Fort Andromeda to gather mana for Rider was bust thanks to Faust, but now he had a Plan B. Shirou's Mystic Code was all he needed to get the power he deserved. With its power, he could become a full-fledged mage at last.
As bad as things were before, Faust opened a brand new opportunity for him.
To be continued...
OMAKE: WELCOME TO THE TIGER DOJO!
"Hallo, alle miteinander!" Illya waved her arms cheerfully, "It is I, Illya, everyone's favorite fräulein! And we're back at it again for another fun episode of Tiger Dojo! I'm sure you're all wondering where Sensei is right now since little ol' me is all by her lonesome," Illya tucked her hair as a sly smirk appeared on her face, "Well, let's just say after a mix up with beer and a laxative she's experiencing 40 minutes of chocolate rain..."
"MEN!"
WHACK!
"Ouch!" Illya whelped as a large goose rose from her head.
"Damn it, Illya..." Taiga groaned as she held her stomach, her face looking extremely constipated, "I hope you realize that you just earned yourself 100 laps."
"You're the one who ate all my cookies! You know I was saving those! Don't blame me if I get a little vindictive because you've seen all the dead ends where I kill Onii-chan!" Illya retorted.
"Oh geez... urp... alright," Taiga sighed as she relaxed herself, "I'll deal with you later, troublesome student of mine. Let's go over today's chapter," her face became straight as she remembered something, "Hm? I don't think we talked about the chapter before this one, did we?"
"That's what dimensional interference does. Reception doesn't work all that well outside the Multiverse," Illya sighed, "We really need to fix that satellite."
"In that case, let's talk about the last chapter's bombshell. And HOLY CRAP Rin-san is a Smash! That does make things way more interesting, though. As far as Rin-san knows she was always human and was born from a Magus, so the explanation of why she's a Smash would definitely be a turning point for this story."
"Hm, it would definitely explain why she's such a thug though," Illya waved off, "Big, dumb, and easy to beat, just like every other monster of the week that Toku superheroes fight."
"And then there's what happened to Homurahara Academy," Taiga sobbed as she dabbed a napkin in her eye, "Completely gassed, property damage, and all my poor students. Faust has definitely gone too far this time. If it were up to me I'd march into their headquarters and beat them to death with my shina!"
"I can attest to that," Illya muttered, nursing her bruised head, "But on the plus side, Onii-chan got to use a new Best Match today! Let's see what the Fullbottles are!"
"Octopus!"
"This here is the Octopus Fullbottle!" Taiga announced as the Fullbottle appeared on the chalkboard, "This Fullbottle grants high speed and agility to make for slippery getaways, just like an octopus! The halfbody is very greesy and slick, letting Shirou slip and slide however he wants, not to mention make him extra flexible and capable of camouflaging himself."
"That's so gross!" Illya gacked as she stuck out her tongue, "How many more weird Fullbottles are they're gonna be?"
"Oh there's gonna be a lot of them, and each one is stranger than the last," Taiga said in a matter-of-fact tone, "It's main weapon is the Twin Lash Arm, tentacles that act like whips. They have suction cups that let him grab on to anything. Adding to that, he can shoot ink and swim at high speeds underwater."
"Ick. It does sound like something useful for water battles, but it still sounds icky," Illya gagged again as she slipped the other Fullbottle into the panel.
"Light!"
"Here's something that's not icky at all!" Illya beamed as the Light Fullbottle appeared on the chalkboard, "The Light Fullbottle is just what you think it is. It's a Fullbottle with the power of light. Shirou can use it to light up the darkness and blind his enemies. Oh, and he can use lightning attacks too!"
"He's got two ways of flashing lights," Taiga continued, "The Shade Breaker on his arm and the BLD Light Bulb Shoulder on his shoulder. When they both get used together, that's how he uses electric attacks. Shirou can even use them to charge up his speed! Now that we've explained what they can do individually, let's see what they can do together!"
"Octopus! Light! Best Match!"
"OctopusLight!" Illya introduced as magenta and yellow confetti rained down, "Also known as the Lightning Technician, this form gives really good speed, but his jumping power isn't all that great."
"Unfortunately, this is Shirou's weakest form," Taiga said, folding her arms as she shook her head, "That means Shirou has no choice but to use the abilities it has. That said, with the Twin Lash Arm and light based powers, it can be very technical and strategy heavy. He just has to make sure not to get hit a lot."
"It's a pretty weird form to fight in. An octopus and a light are two things that you'd think would relate together. Then again, rabbits and tanks aren't that related either," Illya remarked.
"It's all part of the story. I'm sure it will all be explained soon," Taiga waved off. "Anyway, let's wrap this up with a trivia question. In chapter one, there was someone called Subject 013004. Can any of you readers guess what that number really means? Write down your answers in the review section and-" Taiga' face suddenly scrunched as her cheeks turned blue. Instantly, she held her stomach as she bolted to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.
"Looks like the laxative kicked in again," Illya smirked as loud raspberry noise blasted from the bathroom. "Still, it looks like we've run out of time for now. Hope you can all look forward to another exciting chapter of Fate/Build everyone! Ah, and don't forget to add more fun tropes to our TV Tropes page!"
"OH GOD I CAN SEE BLOOD!"
Tailsmo4ever: As you can see, I still live. Being busy with another project with Chrome, I haven't had time to work a lot on this. But I'll do my best.